JFM Exposes Military-Linked Network Led by Min Aung Hlaing’s Daughter’s Plan to Sell 800kg of Gold Worth $48 Million

Yangon, July 17 Justice For Myanmar (JFM) has revealed that a military-linked network, led by Khin Thiri Thet Mon, daughter of military leader Min Aung Hlaing, attempted to sell 800 kilograms of gold, valued at approximately $48 million, through Thailand, Laos, and Hong Kong in an effort to launder the funds. This plan was uncovered a few months after the Myanmar military's coup. According to JFM's investigation, the gold laundering scheme was orchestrated by Khin Thiri Thet Mon, Min Aung Hlaing’s daughter. The military-linked network had planned to sell 800 kilograms of gold to a subsidiary company of AIF Group in Laos. Payments were reportedly arranged to be processed through BIC Bank Lao, a partially state-owned bank in Laos. JFM stated that its investigation is based on draft agreements, letters of intent, and personal communication records obtained from the parties involved. The findings indicate that Tun Min Lat, a close associate of the Min Aung Hlaing family and an arms broker, acted as an intermediary broker along with Upakit Pachariyangkun, who was a Member of Parliament in Thailand at the time. The sale of gold was arranged through a Thai company listed as the final seller in the documents. Furthermore, communications between Tun Min Lat and Upakit mentioned the sale of 200 kilograms of gold, but JFM has not yet been able to independently confirm whether these gold transfers actually took place. The planned transaction with AIF Group reportedly fell through in mid-2021 due to disagreements over financial guarantees and the step-by-step implementation plan. JFM warned that even though the plan did not materialize, the military junta, its leaders, their family members, and cronies continue to be involved in transnational criminal activities and still pose a threat to regional security. JFM's previous investigations and the current report indicate that Min Aung Hlaing, his family members, and close associates are directly involved in money laundering and the misappropriation of public assets, including the purchase of real estate in Thailand. JFM also stated that Min Aung Hlaing is exploiting Myanmar's gold resources through military-owned businesses for personal gain. JFM pointed out that the military junta is at the center of a transnational criminal network, including cyber fraud, human trafficking, money laundering, and illegal gambling operations. The funds generated from these criminal activities continue to finance the military's war crimes against the people of Myanmar and crimes against humanity. Therefore, JFM called for international cooperation and coordinated targeted sanctions to cut off the financial channels of military-linked cronies, arms procurement networks, and aviation fuel supply routes. They also urged that the military junta and its associates be held fully accountable for the international and transnational crimes they are committing. Ma Ratana Maung, spokesperson for JFM, stated that Min Aung Hlaing and the military junta have been perpetrating violence against the people of Myanmar for over five years. Since the fraudulent elections, they have intensified indiscriminate airstrikes, arbitrary arrests, and torture against civilians. Furthermore, she asserted that the military junta is a criminal enterprise responsible for the increase in transnational crimes, including the attempted gold laundering exposed by JFM. She urged regional countries, including Thailand, not to recognize the military junta as a legitimate government and to hold them accountable for their criminal acts. She also called for the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Canada, and Australia to urgently expand targeted sanctions against the military junta and its cronies.